He is currently being held on $310,000 bail and faces up to five
years in prison if convicted of the six felony counts and one
misdemeanor he is charged with.

Leon Cordell Rosby, a 52-year-old man from Hawthorne, Calif., was
walking his dog “Max” while watching a police response to a
robbery on June 30. The California man had loud
music playing from his car and was videotaping the showdown with
his cell phone.

Police accused
him of disturbing the crime scene, and a video of the incident
quickly went viral, garnering millions of views. As three
officers approached him, Rosby put his Rottweiler in his car and
allowed the police to apprehend him. But while he was being
arrested, the dog jumped from an open car window, ran toward the
officers and barked at them. One policeman shot the dog four
times, causing the writhing Rottweiler to slowly bleed to death
on the street. Rosby’s knees buckled as he cried out for the
dying animal.

“There was no way Max should have died like that,” he
later told NBC4, describing the shooting as an
“execution”.

The incident outraged animal lovers and animal rights activists
across the country, and the Hawthorne Police Department received
letters of condemnation and death threats.

In response, the police department released a second video of the
incident, which showed more of the officer’s actions before he
shot the dog. More of Rosby’s taunts to police could also be
heard in the clip. After the release of that video, Rosby
allegedly went to the home of the witness who recorded it and
“verbally confronted” her and her son, police told KTLA.
Now, Rosby is facing additional charges for his reaction, and is
being held until his court date.

Despite the public outcry against the actions of the officers,
Rosby was on Tuesday charged with two counts of
intimidating a witness, two counts of dissuading a witness from
prosecuting a crime, and two counts of making criminal threats –
all six of which are felonies. He was also charged with one
misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

Mark Geragos, the attorney representing Rosby, told KTLA that
police are trying to cover up the fact that they killed the
Rottweiler by instead focusing on the wrongdoings of the
defendant.

“The videos have shown that these cops killed this dog for
absolutely no reason,” Geragos said. “That’s precisely why
the cops now are scrambling to try to get him convicted, get him
into custody and do anything else in order to try and turn the
spotlight away from their actions.”

Rosby pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him and is
due back at the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse on Sept.
10.